A magnetoresistance effect element for use in magnetic storage devices usually includes a storage layer, a tunnel barrier layer formed on the storage layer, a reference layer formed on the tunnel barrier layer and a shift canceling layer formed on the reference layer.
As the magnetoresistance effect element decreases in size, a shift magnetic field which is generated from the reference layer and affects the storage layer increases. Unless the shift canceling layer is thickened, shift canceling cannot be fully performed, thereby causing a problem in which the magnetoresistance effect element cannot stably be operated.
The decrease in size of the magnetoresistance effect element also causes a problem in which the magnetoresistance effect element is difficult to fabricate unless the entire element is thinned.
It is thus desirable to provide a magnetoresistance effect element capable of fully canceling a magnetic filed that affects a storage layer and decreasing in thickness.